Fashion editor Kim Hersov revives a derelict row house
using treasures from her past and a splash of rock-and-roll spirit

Fashion Editor Kim Hersov at Home

Fashion Editor Kim Hersov at Home

“This was a new start,” says Kim Hersov of the London home she moved into a couple of years ago with her two sons from a previous marriage, her new partner, artist Barry Reigate, his teenage daughter, and the young son they had together. But “new” for Hersov is a far cry from the radical shift in decor that often accompanies dramatic life changes. Rather than jettisoning the past and everything associated with it, Hersov filled the house with memory-laden belongings, yet still managed to create a setting that feels completely fresh. It helped that Hersov, editor-at-large for Harper’s Bazaar UK, worked with interior designer Hubert Zandberg, who is also a dear friend (he is the godfather of her and Reigate’s child). They share a passion for flea-market shopping and eclectic finds. “Hubert can second-guess me,” says Hersov. They had worked together on her previous home, which she describes as “proper,” and he calls “quite sophisticated, grown-up, and very grand.”

Hersov says of that earlier phase in her life, “A little bit of it was playing house. Like a lot of my friends, I got married really young—and you do the things you think you’re supposed to do. Then you grow into yourself.”

Kim Hersov with her son Aidan outside their London home, which was designed by Hubert Zandberg. Produced by Anita Sarsidi; Photography by Simon Upton

Fashion Editor Kim Hersov's Living Room

Fashion Editor Kim Hersov's Living Room

So when it came to designing the new place, Zandberg wanted to reflect the fact that Hersov has become “a bit of a rock chick,” as he puts it. “She’s still very elegant, but her style has developed.” So he situated beloved old pieces in unexpected settings, creating eccentric juxtapositions. A mismatched collection of silver candlesticks is now clustered on a table in the dining area, which lies in a part of the house that has a raw, industrial feeling. A pair of chinoiserie demilune tables became bathroom vanities. And a hand-painted screen is now displayed in a sitting room filled with Reigate’s edgy, Pop Art drawings. “That was a lovely screen, and we wanted to reuse it,” says Zandberg. “In Kim’s previous house, it just blended into the whole rest of the grand aesthetic perfection. But here, it gets a voice. It starts to become witty, it starts to become exotic. It gets a new personality.”